Equal Justice Works
Project Title
For core support of its Disaster Resilience Program
Date
Jun. 09, 2022
Duration
36 months
Description
Natural disasters disproportionately devastate low-income communities. In addition to being more likely to experience increased debt and credit delinquencies compared to wealthier people, low-income survivors are more likely to face issues around housing, insurance, and public benefits access. Since 2005, Equal Justice Works has deployed fellows across the country to provide critical legal assistance to individuals affected by hurricanes, tropical storms, oil spills and more. During the COVID-19 pandemic, fellows of its Disaster Resilience Program provided legal services to 545 individual clients, conducted 4,000 trainings and educational presentations, and secured more than $670,000 in economic benefits on behalf of clients in Texas and Florida. With Corporation support, Equal Justice Works will deploy Disaster Resilience Fellows in additional states to ensure that legal services are accessible and delivered equitably in the wake of crisis.
Website
Project Title
For core support of its Disaster Resilience Program amid the COVID-19 pandemic
Date
Sep. 10, 2020
Duration
12 months
Description
According to a 2019 report by the Urban Institute, natural disasters disproportionately devastate lower-income communities, creating new poverty and further entrenching inequality. Moreover, communities of color hit by medium-sized disasters have experienced an average 31-point credit score decline, compared to only 4-point declines by majority-white communities. Data shows that communities impacted by such disasters require a full continuum of legal services before, during, and after the crises to achieve long-term economic and health recoveries. Since 2005, Equal Justice Works has deployed more than eighty fellows across the country to provide critical legal assistance to individuals affected by hurricanes, tropical storms, oil spills, and more. With Corporation support, Equal Justice Works will expand its Disaster Recovery Legal Corps to address the impact that COVID-19 has had on already marginalized communities, in addition to continuing its support for survivors of other natural disasters in the United States.
Website
Project Title
For the Disaster Recovery Legal Corps
Date
Mar. 08, 2018
Duration
30 months
Description
Many low-income and marginalized communities across the United States lack adequate access to legal aid services. In Florida, for example, there is less than one civil legal aid attorney for every 21,000 individuals in poverty, while in Texas the ratio is one to 33,000. Natural disasters, of course, only increase the need for legal aid, when civilians require help with challenges ranging from evictions and contractor fraud to insurance disputes and FEMA filings. Equal Justice Works (EJW) aims to close the gap in legal aid for low-income communities by providing and supporting attorneys at legal aid agencies across the nation. In the wake of the hurricanes that devastated parts of Texas and South Florida in the fall of 2017, with Corporation support EJW will mobilize a Disaster Recovery Legal Corps to provide legal aid to disaster-affected areas—a need that is only projected to grow with time.
Website
Project Title
For support of its Justice AmeriCorps Legal Fellowship Program
Date
Mar. 02, 2017
Duration
18 months
Description
Although immigrants have a right to representation by counsel in immigration court, the government is not obligated to provide representation for those who are unable to afford an attorney. According to a national study on access to counsel, only two percent of immigrants were able to obtain pro bono or low-cost representation from 2007-2012. Data analyzed during this study also demonstrated that represented immigrants fared far better in these proceedings than unrepresented immigrants. Represented immigrants were 5 times more likely to receive some form of relief from deportation than unrepresented immigrants. Equal Justice Works was established in 1986 by law students with the goal of expanding legal services to underrepresented people and increasing opportunities for law students and graduates to work in the public interest field. With Corporation support, Equal Justice Works’ Justice AmeriCorps Legal Fellowship program will provide legal representation to immigrant children throughout the country.
Website
Project Title
For general support
Date
Sep. 11, 2014
Duration
12 months